Apparently the issue got changed since RedHat 4, which had /etc/sysconfig/rawdevices, /etc/init.d/raw & /usr/bin/raw.

This version introduces /etc/udev/rules.d/60-raw.rules & /bin/raw.

A. Doing it manually (example):

/bin/raw /dev/raw/raw1 /dev/sdb1

of course, it'll be forgotten after reboot. so:

B. Doing it the right way - udev (example):

1. Add to /etc/udev/rules.d/60-raw.rules:

ACTION=="add", KERNEL=="sdb1", RUN+="/bin/raw /dev/raw/raw1 %N"

2. [Optional] to set permissions, create a new /etc/udev/rules.d/99-raw-perms.rules containing lines such as:

KERNEL=="raw[1-2]", MODE="0640", GROUP="oinstall", OWNER="oracle"

The header of rules.d/60-raw.rules file mentions that this method of using raw devices is deprecated. But still, I think that's the only available way if one wants to use raw devices with Oracle RAC, Either for cluster issues (Voting+OCR) or simple Oracle data files.

C. Oracle RAC raw device permissions

You might ask: what permissions should I give the Oracle RAC disks? This is what I've found out with Roman, a DBA expert who came to help:

• OCR Device(s): root:oinstall , mode 0640
• Voting device(s): oracle:oinstall, mode 0660
  • CRS cannot run if user oracle can't access the device!
• Other devices (i.e. data): I guess also oracle:oinstall mode 0660, because oracle user might need to access them.

Disclaimer: I'm not a DBA expert; I hope this helps. Don't blame me if it ruins important data; send comments if you think I'm wrong/right.